Eli Manning Is Not A Top 10 NFL Quarterback

Eli Manning is quite possibly the most overrated NFL quarterback in the league. He does not have the tangibles to be a leader. Also ignored is the fact that Manning is a turnover machine.

There was a recent article on Bleacher Report titled Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers: Who's Number One from 2004? The author of the article, Jake Cole, had Roethlisberger, Rivers, and then Manning.

According to comments there's an argument for Rivers, Roethlisberger, and then Manning as well. Either way you look at it, Manning falls short of Roethlisberger and Rivers whether you rank them one or two from the class of 2004.

Yet, if you look further at quarterbacks in the league you would struggle to find Manning as a top 10 quarterback. Manning had a decent year last year in leading the Giants to a 12-4 record.

Wth a completion percentage of 60.3, which was the best of his career, he threw 21 touchdowns which was actually his lowest amount since his rookie year, he kept his turnovers down in the regular season throwing only 10 interceptions, and his average yards per throw was at 6.8 yards, and finally he threw for 3,238 yards, which again was the lowest amount since his rookie season.

The problem for Eli is that teams struggled to contain the Giants running game. Both Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward rushed for over 1,000 yards and combined for 17 touchdowns on the ground. On the receiving side of the ball, the two combined for 47 receptions, but no touchdowns.

Furthermore if you look at Manning's rankings for completions he was at number 13, attempts number 11, number 19 in terms of completion percentage, yards he was 17th, tied for 10th in touchdowns, and his yards per attempt ranked 21st.

When the playoffs came, Manning was exposed on just how overrated he truly is. When he was forced to pass against the Philadelphia Eagles, Manning's stats were 15-29 for 169 yards, with zero touchdowns and two interceptions.

For his career Manning has a 4-3 record in the playoffs. Yes, he won a Super Bowl ring and a lot of that had to do with the team's defense and not Manning leading the offense. Don't get me wrong it was fun watching the Patriots lose the Super Bowl, but very little of the actual game had to do with Manning.

In the playoffs Manning's stats get worse. He has a career completion percentage of 58.5 percent, has eight touchdown passes, seven interceptions, and 6.7 yards per attempt.

Teams are going to force Manning to throw. Jacobs may have rushed for just over 1,000 yards last year, but he's going to have a harder time without his backup 1,000 yard rusher the man who brought the speed to the table in Ward.

As for Mannning he cannot compare to the stats of Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, Philip Rivers Kurt Warner, Donovan McNabb, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Chad Pennington, Matt Cassell, Tom Brady (when he comes back from his injury), and Ben Roethlisberger.

That's a pretty solid list and Manning does not crack into that group of 11 quarterbacks. For Ryan and Rodgers it was their first year starting in the league and each one of them put up better numbers than Manning, it may not have reflected in the records, but they are still better than Manning.